A respectful response to an elderly person who mentions their age

[Madman1981]

Hello,

My short question:
What would we say when the person we are speaking to is elderly and mentions their age during a conversation?

Explanation:
Some time ago, I sent an email to the author of an old technical book, asking if he could send me an image of the companion CD for the book. He replied and explained that he no longer had access to the CD himself (as he had retired years ago). During the email, he also mentioned that he is now over 90 years old, and kindly offered me some technical guidance.

I wanted to thank him for the technical advice, but I wasn’t sure what to say about his age. Honestly, I was really surprised to learn that he’s nearly 100 years old.

In my country, when someone mentions their age during a conversation, we usually say “I hope you live to be 120” if they are young, and “I hope you live for a thousand years” if they are elderly. But I wasn’t sure what would be appropriate or respectful to say to an American in this situation.
So, my question (as I mentioned earlier) is: what would be a suitable or kind thing to say in such a setting?

I should also mention that In the end, I didn’t mention his age at all in my reply email. I simply said something like: 'I hope you always stay healthy.'

Thanks in advance!

 

[emsr2d2]

In the context you gave, in which his age seems to be something that he just wanted to mention but it wasn't remotely pertinent to the subject matter, I wouldn't mention it at all in my reply, which is exactly how you reacted too.

I'm sure an AmE speaker will tell you what they might or might not say to an American in that situation but a BrE wouldn't mention it in that context. In a different context, Brits tend to be over-complimentary when they're face-to-face with someone who brings up their advanced age. Here's a couple of examples:

Helen: I'm 98!
John: You don't look a day over 75.

Terry: I'll be 103 years old on Tuesday.
Jane: Oh, come on! I reckon it'll be your 21st birthday!

Bella: I'm 92, you know.
Tom: Wow! What's your secret?

(The last one isn't over-complimentary as such. It's asking Bella for advice on how to live to a ripe old age.)

 

[Madman1981]

Thank you emsr2d2.

If there's a more neutral and safer phrase that one can use in such situations-particularly in online conversations -when speaking to a British person over the age of 60 -something more appropriate than just saying "OK", and simply to show respect and move past the topic of age? I don’t mean in the context I mentioned in my first post (I got my answer on that), I mean in more general conversations, like in a chatroom.

 

[emsr2d2]

I really can't help you with that. I simply wouldn't comment on someone's age even if they brought the subject up. Also, the vast majority of people in the UK wouldn't consider 60 to be old!

 

[Madman1981]

I really can't help you with that. I simply wouldn't comment on someone's age even if they brought the subject up. Also, the vast majority of people in the UK wouldn't consider 60 to be old!

Where in my post did I say that a 60-year-old person is old?

If there's a more neutral and safer phrase that one can use in such situations-particularly in online conversations -when speaking to a British person over the age of 60 -something more appropriate than just saying "OK", and simply to show respect and move past the topic of age? I don’t mean in the context I mentioned in my first post (I got my answer on that), I mean in more general conversations, like in a chatroom.

 

[Tarheel]

It's just a guess, but it might be that she is saying she is sixty.

If you want to get past it then don't mention it.